Materials handling steps into the limelight
As e-commerce soars, attention focuses on fulfillment. Are you ready?
By Staff -- Modern Materials Handling, 1/1/2000
In all the talk about e-commerce, one important component is often left out: fulfillment. But that could be changing.The New Yorker magazine-not generally known for its business coverage-recently published a story that addressed this aspect of e-commerce. The article was accompanied by a full-page photo of a huge, floor-to-ceiling pallet rack with a lift-truck in front of it and a caption that declared: "The automated warehouse is as much a part of e-commerce as a Web site." The story went on to detail the importance of systems and procedures like bar coding, automated storage and retrieval, and batch picking in making e-commerce work.
Similarly, in the book The CDnow Story: Rags to Riches on the Internet, CDnow co-founder Jason Olim credits his distributor's put-to-light system with helping his company fill orders quickly and stay ahead of competitors. In fact, he says the distributor's main catalyst for installing the system was to meet CDnow's needs-which at the time were unique.
Another sign of the times: Increasingly, we here at MMH are getting press releases about warehouse management systems and other software specifically designed to handle online sales and fulfillment.
Will you be called upon to make purchasing decisions about new equipment and software for e-commerce fulfillment? It seems likely. According to Forrester Research Inc., business-to-business e-commerce revenue will soar from $43.1 billion in 1998 to $1.33 trillion in 2003. As might be expected, the computing and electronics industries will be the leaders in e-commerce sales. But other industries will see fast e-commerce growth, too. Among them are motor vehicles, petrochemicals, and shipping and warehousing.
Are you ready? Do you know whether your company plans to enter the e-commerce fray, and what you need to do to prepare for it?
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